


what's this?

by chaoticallybisexual



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Minor Naminé/Xion (Kingdom Hearts), POV Axel (Kingdom Hearts), POV Third Person, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, briefly mentioned Isa/Terra (Kingdom Hearts), decorating for Halloween, sea salt trio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26769097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticallybisexual/pseuds/chaoticallybisexual
Summary: The Sea Salt Trio spend their first Halloween together- allowing them to have fun decorating their new home and spend their time together. Axel decided to take a moment to reflect on the time spent since they've been reunited.
Relationships: Axel & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Axel/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Kudos: 8





	what's this?

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from "What's This" from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

“What’s this?”

“Stop it, you’re starting to sound like Skellington.”

“From Halloween Town?” Xion looks up from the spot where she’s carving a pumpkin and holding a currently-unidentified tool, “Do you think they sell decorations there, too?”

“Maybe,” Axel shrugs. He doesn’t usually care about holidays himself, but Xion and Roxas seemed so excited to celebrate them for real that he can feel himself getting in the spirit, too. “I’d be more interested in seeing how we’d look in their world.” It wouldn’t be a bad idea to pop in before the holiday comes around, anyway.

While Xion just shrugs and goes back to testing her new tool, Roxas was curious about everything. Rather than assisting with the decorating, he keeps asking about everything Axel brought up. He wanted to know the reason each decoration was used, why pumpkins are carved, what’s with dressing up. It’s adorable, but he has no idea how to actually respond to them. 

To answer some of the blond’s questions, Axel comes up with the genius idea to just toss Roxas his Gummiphone and just let him do the research himself. They can get odd facts every now and then, but only the ones the blond actually finds interesting. Sure, at least half of what shows up or Roxas clicks will give him the weirdest search history known to man, but he loves him more than enough to deal with the bizarre ads that will likely come.

It’s been a few months since they settled down into their new home in Twilight Town. They found a good sized place that they could afford with their combined earnings and the work it took to fix everything was easy enough with how many people they know. Three bedrooms was definitely the main draw and the large, shared bathroom didn’t seem like too much of an issue when they bought the place. It’s annoying when they all need it at the same time, but otherwise they can easily sort it out between them. The kitchen was still one of the smallest spaces in existence (at least for three people), but they managed by buying a lot of take out instead of using it.

Some of their other friends like to visit and stay over often. They started by staying on the couch in the living room, but soon were able to start using the third bedroom once it opened up. Afterall, it only took a few months for Roxas to move into his room. (He had been away on a mission, then all of the blond’s things were mysteriously in his room and that was that. No questions, just accepting the welcoming arms awaiting him in his bed and finding his own things shuffled into odd spots for a month.)

He and Roxas just reclicked so fast and it just felt like a whirlwind of falling so fast he could barely catch himself. Luckily, he didn’t even need to because Roxas easily caught him. Well, according to Roxas, like they caught each other. The calmest of confessions happened so suddenly, just a simple stare and the softest “I love you” slipping from his lips. It was absolutely terrifying. But, the quick kiss he received was more than enough to take the weight off his shoulders. And onto his lap.

It’s been months since then. The three of them have spent all summer exploring worlds and working, as well as celebrating the summer festivals at one point. San Fransokyo was especially vibrant then and they got lost trying to make it through all the stalls. Fall has now turned up, bringing with it the quick changes in the leaves that left the other two amazed. Even though they’ve been to Arendale several times, he can’t wait for them to see the first snow in their own yard. The redhead can already imagine the countless snowmen that’ll be built and snowball fights to be had here; he never quite imagined this sort of life for himself, but he couldn’t ask for anything different. 

But, for now, he’ll just focus on the decorations. He needs to make sure no one accidentally stabs themselves with a carving knife or accidentally shatters something that was not supposed to be fragile... especially himself.

“It was originally turnips.”

Xion and Axel look over to the blond, who’s still glued to the screen. They share a quick glance and somehow telepathically decide it’s Axel’s turn to ask, “What were turnips?”

“Carvings. Like the pumpkins you’re having us work on,” it’s said as if he has even thought about touching one of the gourds. “Used to ward off the spirit of a guy that tricked the Devil.”

“Alright, then,” Xion sets down her carving and just stares at it. Axel swears he hears a whisper of, “ _does that really work_...”

His own laugh bubbles at the seriousness in their voices. Everything just feels a lot lighter, so many of his former worries have been lifted off his shoulders. In the moment, the only thing that’s bothering him is these shitty fake webs.

“Hey, Roxas, help me out here?”

He had been trying to pull apart the fake spiderwebs for a good ten minutes, but it doesn’t seem to want to work well with one person. Even with his long arms, he couldn’t quite do it without leaving it on several furniture items and he even ripped two different portions to the point of no return. He’s going to use them in inconsequential areas that wouldn’t highlight how badly he did it, but none of his attempts actually look like a proper web and he needs real help.

His boyfriend continues to ignore him in favor of the Gummiphone. 

Cobweb in hand, Axel stalks over as silently as he can. Xion definitely catches on and struggles to hide her giggles.

Within seconds, the material is covering the entirety of Roxas’ head. He likes seeing the way the fake webs cover and mix into blond hair, the gaps that let him peek at the faces his boyfriend is making. The look on Roxas’ face when the webs veil his face is hysterically funny. It may be more scrunched up in his confusion than the time they accidentally walked in on Terra and Isa. (To be fair, it was a big party and they thought that since the room was unlocked, it was unoccupied. And nobody saw the other two wander off together in the first place. They learned their lesson.) He can hear his Gummiphone hitting the floor, but he is too entranced to care.

The redhead lifts it a bit and Roxas meets his gaze. The softness in his eyes just reminds him how far they’ve come. Seeing the white, cobweb veil surrounding him almost makes him look angelic. He imagines the image in front of him being something a little bit different- lace or chiffon instead of webs, a suit rather than sweats, Gummiphone only in the hands of guests. These fantasies have been invading his mind more and more lately; though they haven’t been _together_ long, he wants to believe it could be in their future. He could easily see it in his dreams and thoughts like a fairy tail destined to come true.

Both begin to lean towards the other as easy as breathing. While it rarely is like the same rush as their first, Axel always finds it amazing. It’s hard to believe that Roxas is his boyfriend sometimes. Their hearts have found each other, they call and respond with so much ease that it should probably feel scary. Having someone who knows him as well as Roxas would have been such a foreign thought for his younger self, even when he and Isa had been better friends. Then again, he doubts his younger self even had romance on the mind whatsoever. He’s been in love so long- even when he was a Nobody with no heart- that this relationship just feels like being home.

The sounds of clicks interrupts them both. When they break apart and look, he sees Xion snapping photos with his Gummiphone. 

Xion decides to speak up before either of them could say anything, giggling through her words “You know, you two look like you’re out of those Romance movies Naminé likes.”

“Maybe you should act them out yourselves.” Roxas’ immediate sass doesn’t ruin the moment. The black haired girl blushes at the implications. Her crush on Naminé was cute; they’ve been trying to help her figure out a way to confess for a while, but she can’t quite find the courage to do it yet. If she doesn’t figure it out by Christmas, though, Axel has some ideas up his sleeve that he might try out. 

The house fills with giggles and laughter, something easy and relieving. If he was told himself this would be his life a year ago, he wouldn’t have believed it. But now? Now he’s just happy to have his best friends back in his life. That Xion is back and they have all of their memories back. That they’ve made it through being Nobodies, all of them disappearing or basically dying, and the time it took for them to be completely reunited. Sure he had hopes for their reunion, but he was never guaranteed it would be reality. The smiles are always infectious now and he can’t help the joyful warmth that fills his chest when he thinks about it.

“Gonna get up and help me now?”

Roxas flips him off and he scoffs, but still stands up. The ruined webs fall onto the chair, forgotten by all. They’ll grab a new package and attempt the webs, hopefully finally successful in getting a result they like. Maybe Xion will join, or maybe she’ll get the hang of carving pumpkins and knock those out before he and Roxas can even touch one. But he knows they’ll get it done and have a result they’re pleased with because _they_ did it.

Together.

**Author's Note:**

> My first (published) KH, SST, and Akuroku fic! This was a lot of fun to write, I love thinking about the Sea Salt Trio's dynamics and I swear I will never be over the fact that they are all canonically reunited. Hopefully I somewhat got the characterization right, the last time I attempted was... a long time ago and never published, so I've just decided to try my best and send it into the world.
> 
> Source for that pumpkin fact because, yes, I actually looked it up and found the answer entertaining enough to put in a fic: https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-we-carve-pumpkins-at-halloween
> 
> Any feedback (kudos/bookmarks/comments) is always appreciated! I hope you enjoyed the story!! If over 18, feel free to talk to me on Twitter [@ chaoticallybi](https://twitter.com/chaoticallybi/status/1320335865487478785)! I'm very multi-fandom, but I always love chances to talk more about KH/Akuroku/SST!


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